Treating yourself.

With a lot of inventory sitting on dealers shelves this may just be the time of year especially  with our current economic climate being what it is,  be a good time to score a great guitar at a good price. By scouring many dealers bargain bins and sale items who knows what kind of treat may be in store for you. Not just on top shelf items that may be discounted but also on the guitars or gear that  you may have overlooked when the economic situation was better.

You may want to take a look now at some  refinished guitars that may be priced right, especially if you are a gigging musician looking to get more bang for your buck these days. Even as a budding collector just starting to acquire some really nice guitars or gear this may  be a area you may want to explore. Why refinished guitars you ask? Well in my own humble opinion as long as the guitar in question is at least 70% intact to the original components, but may have at some point been either stripped completely of it's finish or refinished in a more desirable color or the original color reapplied ,now may be the time to score that guitar at a reasonable price. Face it ,you still get that old wood  but at a substantial savings.

As prices for guitars rebound with the rest of our economy you may get even more bang for your buck as the more pristine examples of vintage guitars increase in price and become more and more scarce to the buyers market. As this happens I seem to think that the refinished guitars of the same eras will also increase in price as supply will be outstripped by demand.

Now as far as some of the repaired guitar go, I personally shy away from those that have had questionable repairs done to cracks, splits or headstock repairs. It is also a good thing to ask in this area if the luthier that did the repairs is able to field some questions on the particular piece in question or if some before and after photos exist.As for the really bad repairs I tend to stay away from them as it usually costs more to repair a bad repair that to purchase a repairable guitar and have the work done correctly the first time.Sometime these guitars do deserve a second look , especially if the price is right and you are more interested in playing the guitar than retaining it for an investment.

Then there are what I call top shelf second tier guitars. These are the guitar that are offered by one of the guitar manufactures other than the big three. Most players and collectors alike tend to look at specific name brand guitars but if you say look at guitars made by builders such as Gretsch and Guild in the hollow body and semi hollow bodied guitars you may be pleasantly surprised at the price difference within the same era produced guitar. Respectable vintage pieces at a fraction of the price as opposed to the better known and more sought after guitars on the market.With a multitude to choose from available from guitar dealers worldwide.

As far as solid body styled guitars go ,their are alternatives to the major players but we mainly see strat,tele and LP styled guitars in this area.Again a refinished guitar should in most cases be a lot cheaper than its pristine counterpart and this is where I would look for bargains to surface.Even the third and fourth tier guitar in all ares seem to have had a price increase as demand is created(think catalog and department store guitars) and I have seen those heavier guitars that were produced in the less than stellar years of manufacturing form guitar makers creep upward as the years go by.

It all boils down to how much you can live with giving up to get what you desire guitar and gear wise. Refinished?stripped ?routed? and even the more worn models of particular guitars all cost less than the pristine examples. Yes their are bargains to be had and treats to be found ,all that is required is for you to look. These are  after all is just my own news and views. So until next most ,may all your days be memorable ,all your friends stay true and may all your riffs be killer, Greg at Greg's Guitars.